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A Pizza Blog, Established In 2008Mon, 23 Feb 2015 05:46:35 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1Top Five Pizzas Of 2013http://idreamofpizza.com/2014/01/top-five-pizzas-of-2013.html
http://idreamofpizza.com/2014/01/top-five-pizzas-of-2013.html#commentsMon, 06 Jan 2014 09:02:21 +0000I Dream Of Pizzahttp://idreamofpizza.com/?p=13862I ate a lot of pizza in 2013, as is expected of me. And here are the five best new pizza pies/slices that I had!

This is Pizza Brain’s version of a “plain” slice. It contains mozzarella, aged provolone,
grana padano, fresh garlic, and tomato sauce. Although you’d expect some good pies
from the world’s first pizza museum, this exceeded my high expectations.

I was about to put the Breakfast Pizza from this under-the-radar Brooklyn spot
on this list, however during a recent trip there the pie that really stole the show
was their dessert pizza. Marshmallows are toasted to perfection and they are
joined by nutella and strawberries. You really can’t go wrong.

Who ever thought a grocery store could crank out such delicious pies?
Well the back window of this Portland, Maine specialty shop serves one
of the best Sicilian slices I’ve ever had. Soft and chewy with a sauce that’s
to die for.

One of the oddest pizzas I had this year was also one of the most memorable.
An off the beaten path beach hut in Vietnam serves a few dozen pies including
one with foie gras. If it wasn’t a match made in heaven, I don’t know what is.

]]>http://idreamofpizza.com/2014/01/top-five-pizzas-of-2013.html/feed0Micucci Grocery: Excellent Sicilian Slices In The Back Of A Portland, Maine Shophttp://idreamofpizza.com/2013/08/micucci-grocery.html
http://idreamofpizza.com/2013/08/micucci-grocery.html#commentsSun, 25 Aug 2013 02:25:09 +0000I Dream Of Pizzahttp://idreamofpizza.com/?p=2295When you think of Portland, Maine, seafood and lobsters are probably what come to mind. But Portland has a thriving food scene that expands beyond water creatures and that includes pizza. I recently made my first trip to Portland and at the top of my list of places to try was an unconventional pizza spot I’d read about: Micucci Grocery (45 India Street).

To write that Micucci Grocery is a pizza place is a bit of a misnomer. It’s actually, as you can probably tell by it’s name, a grocery store. Walk in through either the entrance on India Street or the side door by the parking lot, and you’ll be greeted with offerings of a typical specialty grocery shop — breads, cheese, flour, pastas, sauces, wine, and beer amongst other local products. But the action here is taking place in the back of the store.

Head up a couple of stairs and veer to your left and you’ll find a tiny room with a rolling rack of breaded goods. Focus on the lower rack which contains slabs of Sicilian pizza. They’ll start to appear a bit before 11AM and the last ones usually come out around 3:30PM. Although it wasn’t crowded when I stopped by on a weekday afternoon around 2PM, I understand it can get crowded back there. As such, the slabs are never sitting out there for long. My girlfriend and I split one — which if you’re not particular hungry is perfectly sufficient. It costs $4.50.

Sicilian pies are not my preferred style of pizza but this was delicious. The crust was bready and chewy — and exhibited some foccacia-like properties. But the highlight for me was the tomato sauce. It’s sweet and smooth, a combination of crushed tomatoes, garlic, salt, and sugar. It some of the best tomato sauce I can recall having on pizza.

In an odd twist of fate, just days before I visited Micucci, noted baker Stephen Lanzalotta who is responsible for the pizza, was fired after six years at the shop. All of the recipes are his and we might be in for a pizza war in this quaint New England town — certainly a locale where you’d least expect it. Whatever the outcome, I hope Micucci continues to operate this exceptional space featuring Sicilian pizza as good as it comes.